Some children who need spinal surgeries may soon receive them overseas, under plans being finalised by Irish health authorities.
An agreement has been reached with Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Families who elect to travel are expected to have their flights and accommodation paid for by the Department of Health.
Following a clinic held in Dublin by surgeons from hospitals in the UK, a number of patients have now been offered treatment in Great Ormond Street.
Treatment is also expected to be provided at London's Portland Hospital.
Additionally, talks are under way on outsourcing agreements with Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York and another US facility.
The operational details have still to be finalised but it is expected that dozens of children might benefit from the development within weeks.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said important progress was being made in tackling the waiting list for spinal surgeries.
"There will be dozens of children and their parents who will be offered the option of going to the US or going to the UK," he said.
"These are world class centres," he said, adding: "The quality of the clinical care is superb and we'll put a full package of supports in place for the child and the parent."
He also said there would be an increase in the work done here in Irish hospitals.
Minister Donnelly recently visited the facilities in the US, along with the head of the Paediatric Spinal Management Unit in Ireland David Moore.
The developments have also involved the Independent Spinal Task Force, chaired by barrister Mark Connaughton, which met yesterday to review progress.
In a statement, the task force said that while the overseas option is not suitable for all children waiting on spinal surgeries, it is expected that dozens of families will be able to avail of the option to get their child’s surgery in world-class facilities.
The aim is to try and deal with the large backlog of spinal surgery waiting lists in Ireland, while Children’s Health Ireland builds up its capacity under Mr Moore.
Scoliosis Advocacy Network said the annoucement offers "no assurance that spinal surgery waiting lists will be reduced to reasonable numbers or meet international standards within six months".
It said that many children awaiting surgery are excluded from the initiative and "left to languish on the waiting list" due to the complexity of their medical needs.
It said the delay in formulating and delivering the task force's plan only adds to the already unacceptable paediatric spinal surgery delays.
Claire Cahill, from the group, said that no child has been outsourced since their meeting with the taoiseach nearly a year ago.
She said: "The past 12 months of waiting for scoliosis surgery have led to deteriorating health for some children, reducing their chances of successful outcomes.
"For others, the prolonged wait has resulted in health declines making surgery no longer an option."
CHI conducted over 460 spinal surgeries last year but long waiting lists remain. There was a 42% increase in referrals to the waiting list last year.
Official figures for last month put the total spinal surgery waiting list at CHI at 281 patients, including those with Spina Bifida.
The HSE said it is also engaging with CHI, the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh, the Blackrock Clinic, and the National Treatment Purchase Fund, to ensure capacity for complex spinal surgeries is maximised.
